The Gift
by CartRAT
Summary: AU: Usagi experiences a birthday for the books when she's stuck at a celebrity event and meets a stranger who changes her life forever. -COMPLETE-
1. i

**Once again, I've been bit with the one-shot bug and decided to give you folks this thing ^_^ Don't worry, I'm still working on **_Days_** and it should be coming soon… well, kind of… pretty soon… um, yeah… **

**Rated: M for adult content and language.**

**And I would like to extend my appreciation to Mikami for acting as my beta-reader for part of this story. ^_^ You're wonderful!**

**Thanks, enjoy and I love you all!**

_The Gift_

"Hey Usagi, happy birthday!"

An odango-head beamed with graciousness and excitement. "Thank you, Mina. You're here early."

The bubbly flaxen formally known as Minako Aino—whose hair was garnished with a red bow—grinned as she stepped onto the elevator next to her friend, with hair color equally as golden. "I'm here early? This is the first time I've ever seen you before nine looking as good as you do!"

Usagi raised an eyebrow. "Thanks…?"

The doors completely closed and the elevating box started on its journey upward.

"So does Mamoru have any special plans for you tonight?" Minako continued, completely blowing off her friend's sideway glance, "Twenty-five is, after all, pretty deserving of some celebration. Just think: you've already lived through a whole quarter of a century."

"Wow, you're just full of those backhanded compliments this morning. Maybe it wasn't such a good thing that I forgot to take my bitch pills today." Usagi thrust her hand on her hip.

Sighing, Minako began wrapping a lock of her hair around her finger. "Forgive me. I had a biological wake-up call when I found Akio missing this morning. It had hit me that you're already five years deep in a marriage while I can't even find a guy to stay over for one whole night. And you're only four months older than me." She let herself sound sardonic and desperate about her early morning circumstances.

Usagi cocked her head. "Akio? I thought his name was Akira?"

She shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Both blonde beauties were completely unaware of the awkward stares and quiet snickers coming from the bystanders behind them.

"Well to answer your initial question," Usagi began, "Mamoru plans to take me to the restaurant where we had our rehearsal dinner. I've wanted to go back ever since then."

"Ooh, the place with the cosmos that totally knocked us on our asses?" Minako's animated light blue eyes sparked with curiosity.

"Mina, please, I don't need the recall." As much as she tried to, Usagi could never forget the tear-inducing headache that came along with the hangover the day after and doing everything in her power to get rid of it before having to walk down the aisle.

Minako snorted. "What's there to recall?" She accompanied her statement by reaching in her purse and taking out her cell phone to read an incoming e-mail.

"_Anyway_, I'll have you know I'll be sticking to wine tonight. And Mamoru even bought tickets for Madame Butterfly and the fireworks festival tonight so it'll be a classy evening." Usagi shook her shoulders in enthusiasm and smiled to herself.

"Oh shit. Boobalicous has called an emergency meeting. We're supposed to be in the conference room ASAP." The red-bowed woman paid no attention to the rest of her co-worker's statement and her voice trailed off into distress.

Finally feeling the lagged vibration throughout her shoulder, Usagi reached into her own purse and checked her own e-mail account on her smartphone. She had received the same message. She groaned. "I swear if it's another one of her "who's-the-food-rapist-who-stole-my-tofutti?" meetings, I will punch her right in her fake boob and laugh as I watch it deflate."

"Violent, aren't we? Are you sure someone didn't lace your coffee with those bitch pills?" Minako elbowed Usagi while giggling.

She sighed and shook her head in annoyance. "Y'know, when you're the editor-in-chief of a prominent magazine, you would think you would have some level of…" she tripped over her voice as she was having a hard time finding the right word to finish off her sentence.

"…Knowledge of where to find a good plastic surgeon?" Minako grinned widely.

"So you believe Rei's total incompetence and egotism is completely eclipsed by her bad boob job? Pervert!" Usagi held some laughter in her voice.

"Oh right, her name is Rei. No one's called her by her real name in three years and I thought I was losing my mind."

Usagi snorted. "It was an act of God that _I_ even remembered it. Maybe I'm the one losing my mind."

The elevator finally came to a halt and the steel double-doors opened with the sound of a "ding." Both of the blondes walked onto the fifty-first floor in unison.

"Should I tell her that I hide her tofutti in the I.T. department's freezer every week?" Minako inquired sarcastically.

"Nah, it's still funny."

* * *

The two women briskly walked through the pristine sliding doors of Stargaze magazine and then basically into utter office frenzy. Minako and Usagi watched in amusement the lower-level assistants and interns scramble to prepare the conference room for the emergency meeting; while a few balanced trays of everyone else's water glasses and pitchers, others carried in Rei's demanded egg white sandwich on a whole wheat English muffin, earl grey tea and fruit cup. Other office workers were trying to finish up their prior businesses before attending another one of Rei's "urgent" gatherings. None were too happy or excited for it. The last one included her complaint, and ultimately ban, of listening to music during work.

The odango-head and red-bowed women found their usual seated places around the conference table as everyone else situated themselves there soon after. Usagi was fortunate enough to witness one of the interns drop Rei's English muffin on the floor; the top bun slipping away slightly to have half of the egg white touching the carpet. With one movement, he picked it back up and positioned the breakfast sandwich back to its perfect look, giving it a few light blows from his mouth to clear it of the floor's residue, and set it neatly at the head of the table. Usagi covered her mouth to hide her maniacal chuckle.

"Is everyone here?" A tall, slender raven-haired woman almost glided into the conference room. Her violet eyes told the story of that of a serious, career-oriented, arrogant sociopath and her attire exuded that of a woman proud of her curves and perky breasts. When the employees responded with silence or coughs and she made it to the head end of the table, Rei Hino took it upon herself to begin with business.

"Just ten minutes ago, I received a memo from Hito and Ryuka PR agency announcing that there is a last-minute celebrity fundraiser going on tonight starting at 6 PM. It is being held in Roppongi at the Hana Bar and 100 percent of your food and alcohol orders will go to this foundation as proceeds. The foundation for the fundraiser has extended an invitation to all of us at Stargaze and as my employees you are _required_ to be there. It's not very often when we all are asked to rub shoulders with a-list celebrities so I do believe I should be met with no grievances."

Usagi was too mortified to laugh at the sight of Rei taking a bite out of her egg white sandwich. No… not tonight…

With a full mouth, the editor-in-chief nodded at someone who had their hand up.

"What is the fundraiser for?"

She swallowed her masticated food and took another glance at her printed memo before answering. "It's for the fight against leukemia… any other questions?"

"Isn't that place haunted?" came a female voice from the middle of the crowd.

Rei rolled her eyes and huffed. "Don't waste my time with that ghost bullshit. If you're so superstitious, you need to be out of your office by the end of the day… any more questions?"

When she was met with silence yet again she moved to dismiss everyone back to work. Though, Usagi took this moment to dare question the mighty Captain Tatas. Almost tip-toeing her way to her boss, the odango-head cleared her throat to get Rei's attention once she approached her.

"Um, Rei… Could I talk to you?"

The stern ebony-headed woman stared down the blonde with a look that told her she better say something interesting in the next two seconds or she would be fired.

"You see, it's my birthday today and… my husband and I have made dinner plans tonight and… well… you see he's a doctor—a surgeon actually—and we really haven't been out together in the last year and we really need this. We've already made reservations and have tickets to an opera…" The odango-head nervously giggled in between her words and began to sweat.

Rei did not wait another moment to respond to the timid Usagi. "Ma'am, it is required that you come to tonight's event. I will not budge on that issue. It doesn't happen often, if at all, that we are exclusively invited to a celebrity party. We all need to provide a good image of Stargaze and the more of us that show up the more it shows that we care and the better chances of us getting invited to something on this level again."

"Yes… I understand, but would they really notice the absence of little old me?" She was trying to play on Rei's superiority complex. "My husband's work is just so demanding and this is probably the only night in the whole year that I'll be able to spend time with him. Please, Ms. Hino…"

Her fierce lavender eyes penetrated questioningly through Usagi's blue hues. "If I make an exception for you, then everyone else will come up asking me for favors and turn this whole office into chaos." She then sighed, regrettably. Who really would notice her being gone? She looked around the room and windows for anyone close by before lowering her voice. "Fine, just stay there for at least an hour or so. Then you can sneak off… and I mean _sneak off_. Don't go telling all your gal pals I said you could leave." Rei really wanted to upkeep her fear-inducing reputation so as not to face disrespect from her subordinates.

Usagi sighed in relief. Even though it was not what she wanted, it was something. But she decided not to push her luck. "Thank you, thank you. I promise, not a word…"

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mamo-Chan…"

"Usako, how are you?"

"Eh, I'm okay."

"Why are you just okay?"

Usagi sighed. "Something came up at work today and I need to be at this fundraiser right now for about an hour or so. But don't worry, I've talked to my boss and I can still make it tonight. I'm going to have to meet you at the restaurant instead of you coming by to pick me up. I'm sorry, love…"

She heard a deep chuckle from the other end of the line. "That's fine. You sure you're allowed to leave?"

"Believe me, even if I wasn't, I would find a way to sneak out. She probably doesn't even remember my name after three years so who's she gonna get mad at?"

"Alright, alright. I'll see you at seven."

"Bye, Mamo-Chan."

Usagi let out a sigh while ending her phone conversation with her husband.

"I can't believe you got out of it. How were you able to do it?" Minako asked as she focused her attention on her reflection in a compact mirror as she applied some touch-up to her face. Both women were in the back of a cab on their way to the club.

"Eh, I just played up on her arrogance. She doesn't know who the hell I am and if she sees me as this insignificant executive assistant, then who's gonna know I'm gone in a sea of celebrities? Anyway, I'll help you get out too if you need to…"

"Are you kidding? I hear Yaten Kou is going to be there. I've wanted to have his babies since I was sixteen. I'm staying there all night until I get a lock of his hair."

"What? Is a picture and autograph too amateur for your fandom?" Usagi cocked an eyebrow.

"Usagi, you disappoint me…" Minako shook her head. "_Anyone_ can get those measly things anytime, anywhere and I'm not just anyone. It's always to the next level with Minako Aino." She flashed a peace sign and winked.

"…Or to jail cell for thirty days and a restraining order."

"Well, we all have to make sacrifices at some point in our lives." Usagi's sarcasm did not faze the vivacious blonde one bit as she comfortably applied gloss to her lips.

The odango-headed woman shook her head. Minako was all too perfect for this business.

After a few more moments, the two made it to their destination and it was no low-key event. A crowd of photographers and reporters lined the red-carpeted walkway on both sides as many celebrity guests strutted their way down the path, taking their sweet time basking in the flashes of the cameras and questions of the quick interviews.

Minako and Usagi grabbed for their press passes and made their way around to the back of the club in order to enter. There was a reason why Usagi went for the backstage work instead of the limelight: glamour looked like too much of a hassle. And anything—even charities—was used to their advantage for more publicity and good image.

Minako, on the other hand, was still a struggling entertainer and tried her luck at many singing and talent contests over the years. While she did win a few, it did not skyrocket her to stardom like she had hoped and recently decided to take the back door approach through working for a prominent celebrity magazine to aid in her quest for an iconic status. Three years later, she was still here.

The two separated as red-bowed woman bounced her way around to network with celebrities and Usagi mulled around to try to pass the time until she was to leave. So far, it was the longest half-hour of her life. While she nursed her champagne and mingled with everyone and no one, she caught herself looking at her watch every two seconds hoping that ten minutes had passed. At one point, she caught Minako throwing her head back in laughter with a silver-haired man. And a few times Usagi had come upon someone she had met before such as an obscure music producer or manager, but no one she had too much interest in on this night.

And of course it was the night of her birthday in which Mamoru promised her a romantic time on the town… finally. Becoming head of surgery sounded dignified at first; it meant high status, intelligence and money. Enough to where Usagi did not have to work. He attained the position the same year they were married and the double-dose of good news seemed too good to be true… and it was. For the first two years of marriage, the blonde beauty spent her time alone or shopping with close friends; she got to know her hairdresser more intimately than she did her significant other. It did not take too much courage to go out and find a job in order to pass time of long weeks she went without seeing Mamoru and put that communications minor to good use. She loved her husband in all the ways possible but still found herself lonely and grasping for any free time she could get with him. Well, only thirty more minutes of this and then freedom…

"Hey, Odango…"

Usagi's thoughts were interrupted by a firm grasp on her shoulder. The odango-head turned to see her scantily-clad boss, Rei Hino. Inwardly she was rolling her eyes. She had not been called that name since junior high and, of course, leave it to Rei of all people to resurrect the title. Even though she had only known the woman as long as she had worked for her, she swore "Odango" was a conspiracy between all her past and present enemies. When she and Mamoru first met, he would address her like so just to get her blood boiling. But after their relationship blossomed, so did the pet names.

She would consider a change of hairstyle after this.

"…do you still need to leave?" her boss finished.

"Uh, yeah…" Usagi answered with blue eyes wide in confusion and anticipation. "Why?"

"Yeah," Rei looked around the bar as if she were trying to evade someone or hide, "… well, _I_ need to leave and I remember you had to as well. We can share a cab."

Usagi blinked. "You need to leave? Why?"

"Why do you keep asking why?!" Rei snarled as anger swept her gaze. "That doesn't matter. Are you coming or not?"

The scared blonde then nodded vigorously. For this moment in time, she considered Rei a saint. "Okay." With one huge gulp, her half-full flute of champagne flowed effortlessly down her throat.

The two women pushed lightly through the crowd. They were careful as to not upset any celebrities and get Stargaze blacklisted for any reason. Some of them could be quite the prima donnas.

Rei led Usagi through the backdoor and proceeded to yell and wave for a cab. The raven-headed woman was on a mission and Usagi ended up lagging behind for a bit, having to avoid a black-haired young man walking in the opposite direction on her same path. As the odango-head stormed out the doorway after her boss, somehow the man's full glass of alcohol landed on her bust. Half of the drink spilled all over her blouse while the rest ended their fall onto her shoes.

"Oh my God, miss, I am so sorry. Are you okay?" the man asked in astonishment.

Jesus, was that drink ever cold. Usagi swore a couple of ice cubes fell down her bra. That moment happened so fast that it submitted her to complete speechlessness and all she could do was look down herself while gasping heavily.

"Odango, what are you doing? Let's go!" Rei demanded while she leaned on an open door of a yellow cab.

"Um, Rei, I'm sorry. I… I have a bit of a problem. I had kind of an accident…" Usagi tried to wipe off some of the drink.

Her boss raised her lip and dark eyebrow and shrugged. "What?"

"Yeah… I'm sorry. I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be right out."

She wasted no time. Rolling her eyes, Rei stepped into the cab, closed the door and was down the street no more than five seconds later. Usagi sighed in annoyance as she watched the editor-in-chief pull away without her and soon stomped her right foot hard on the pavement.

"Shit!"

"Miss, I sincerely apologize. You were moving quite fast and I tried to get out of your way." The man made light of the situation by chuckling and handing her a handkerchief.

Oh… he was still here. Usagi shook her head and accepted the cloth tissue by basically snatching it out of his hand. "You're fine. Don't worry about it. Thanks." She began wiping off her arms and neck before dabbing at her blouse.

"That's… not looking like it's gonna come out."

She knew he was just trying to make lighthearted conversation; she knew he was trying to be funny; she knew he was trying to make it all better. But this day could not have gotten any worse. Not only was she forced into this party, but was abandoned and spilled on in the same minute. It was hard to appreciate his attempts.

"You think? I was hoping it was just disappearing ink in your crystal glass." She barked.

His eyes widened in fear. "Hey, calm down, Odango. It's not the end of the world."

Oh no he did NOT. "Excuse me, my name is not Odango!"

"Could have fooled me; you let Tits Mcgee call you that."

Usagi growled. "She's my boss and you're just some scotch-drinking stranger. She has somewhat more of a right."

"She's your boss?" He was startled. "Sorry about that. She seems like a bitch."

"Can you just stop talking now and leave me alone?" Usagi busted through the back door to leave behind the dark-headed man with his sarcastic apologies. Once again pushed her way through the a-list crowd only this time she was not taking any prima donna tendencies into consideration and ignored a few remarks; by the time they were even made, she was halfway across the room. She approached the bar to request some club soda before taking it to the bathroom.

Only a few minutes into cleaning herself and some other task had to come up: her phone began ringing. Usagi was somewhat calmed by reading Mamoru's name on the caller ID.

"Oi, Mamo-Chan," she sighed.

"Hey, Usako, are you at the restaurant yet?"

"No, no. Not yet. Are you there?"

She heard him sigh heavily and her ears perked, knowing what that meant…

"Usako, I can't make it tonight."

…And she lost it. "What? Why not?!"

"There's been a horrible car accident just a few minutes ago and these people are in critical condition. They haven't come in yet but… they need me. It's that bad. I'm sorry, Usako. I know how much you were looking forward to this…"

She fervently ran her hand through her bangs and tried her hardest to keep from ripping them out. Of course this happened… why did she expect this night to be so special?

"Alright… you better go then. Don't want those people to die on your watch." And with that, Usagi hanged up her phone without any 'goodbye' or 'I love you' to her husband of five years. Even though she would feel twice as terrible if she were to pull her husband away from saving lives, it was the perfect cherry on the top of her bad night. And no matter what, she was not allowed to be selfish.

So she cried. What else could she do? She covered her face in a failed attempt to keep in her sobs and tears but it seemed like it only made her blubbering worse. She missed her husband dearly and thoughts of separation or divorce had crossed her mind recently. She hated the thought of even thinking about it and would curse herself vastly every time it invaded her mind. But could anyone really blame her? She was lonely and in love, she was human.

Usagi heard many times from her close friend, Minako, that alcohol is only a temporary solution if you stop. Maybe another drink or five would cure her blues if only for the night. With one last sniffle, she dried her face of the fallen tears and gave herself one last look in the mirror. The stranger was right: the stains were not going to come out. She'll just have to wear them with pride.

And on her way out to beeline it for the bar, she was greeted by that scotch-drinking stranger. He held two full glasses of white wine in his hand.

"Are you doing okay?" Sarcasm turned into sincerity.

Even if it was really only a few seconds, Usagi took the time to stare at him because of his striking resemblance to her husband. But though there was a similarity, there was a difference and something about him that felt unearthly. His messy black bangs fell over pools of dark blue that could hypnotize any woman into his arms. In height, he had a few inches over the odango-head and it was accented well with dark, sleek slacks and a fitting black shirt that greatly pronounced his thin frame. Literally, she shook her head to disrupt her staring and had hoped he did not notice.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry, I'm not having a good night."

"I can tell…" he smirked, "I bought you a drink." he extended one of the glasses to her.

She chuckled. "No, really it's okay. You don't have to do anything. I'm sorry I was so rude back there."

"Please, I won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't do something for you. It's very apparent you've seen better days and why not let a stranger help out?" He grinned to show a perfectly stunning smile.

Sighing, she looked around. She did not socialize with any of her co-workers on an informal basis so how was Mamoru going to find out? Hell, Minako is the only one who knows she is even married. And it was all to be innocent anyway.

"Okay. One drink," She complied while accepting the glass. Hey, it was for charity, was it not? She noticed that he did not hide the fact that he was fairly pleased that she agreed to his offer. After taking the wine, Usagi hugged herself tightly to stay warm after feeling a sudden coldness.

"So do you often run into people with full glasses of alcohol?" he winked.

"Run into you?! I saw you practically hurl that drink onto me. I never even touched you," Usagi defended.

"Well I gotta say it looks better on you than it did in the glass."

She sent a confused glare his way. "I never knew someone to pay more attention to the look of scotch versus its taste."

"Well I can tell you about its taste if you would just follow me into the unisex bathroom." His cobalt eyes glinted in a mischievous sensuousness.

"Do you do this all the time to pick up women?" Glare was now a grin.

The man was in the midst of sipping on his wine before her inquiry made him almost choke. He coughed a few times and wiped his chin of the dribbling alcohol. "What?"

"Spill on them and then buy them drinks in order to blatantly hit on them?"

He smirked. "What makes you think I'm picking you up?"

Usagi could not have felt anymore shot down. "Uh… um, I mean… aren't you?" She really felt like disappearing.

"Well you do look like my type. But I'd have to be blind to miss that big, shining rock on your left hand." With the hand holding his wine glass, the young man pointed toward Usagi's wedding ring. "Lemme guess: a lawyer?"

She looked down at her ring finger as if it was news to her she wore her wedding band. Blushing, Usagi chuckled nervously. "Close, he's a doctor."

"So what's a doctor's wife doing at a celebrity event?"

The blonde could not help but sigh. "This doctor's wife works for a magazine. And I came here unwillingly if you can believe it."

"I can believe it. This thing is too stuffy for my tastes." He made a sour face to accompany his disdainful feeling.

"Well then what's a _scotch-drinking klutz_ doing here?" Usagi giggled and sipped on her wine.

"You don't know who I am?" The man blinked his dark blue eyes in bewilderment.

The odango-head shifted her eyes and shrugged apologetically. "Am I supposed to?"

He returned the shrug and went for another sip of wine. "For a working at a magazine, you're sure rusty on your celebrities."

"I know the ones that matter," Usagi cocked a brow. "I can't help it if you're a has-been."

"Oh God!" He humorously grabbed at his chest. "That hurt. That really hurt deep down, Odango. That was low! Is that the way you treat all strangers?"

"Excuse you! But I told you not to call me that." While still being a tad irked, Usagi did have playfulness in her voice.

"Why not? I'm hell of a lot nicer than Big Boobs Magoo."

"C'mon, Satan's nicer than her!"

"Is she that bad?"

"Did you not just see her ride off in a cab—which we were supposed to share—without me back there?" The blonde woman asked, trying to convince the stranger. "I was supposed to go meet my husband."

"Well, it just wasn't meant to be…" He calmly retorted.

The odango-head blinked in confusion before she opened her mouth to speak. But nothing would come out as she was cut off from being bumped by a line of people. Not even an hour into the party and the club was already packed. A bit of her wine spilled over the cusp of her glass, but luckily it missed her and instead splattered on the floor.

"It's getting more crowded." The man exclaimed with a smile. He then leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "Do you want to go somewhere else?"

A sudden chill raced down the blonde's spine from his murmuring. And then the coldness spread all over her body. She could not help it; her husband had canceled on her for the millionth time and the only attention she was receiving was from this handsome stranger. Doubt, confusion and anger consumed her mind for the night and this man had something about him to calm her down. It was not anything lustful…

She just felt safe.

Breaking out of her reverie, Usagi turned to her left after feeling a hand on her shoulder.

"Usagi, why are you still here? I thought you were supposed to have left by now." Minako was surprised and perplexed.

"Oh he had an emergency at the hospital. There was a really bad car accident tonight."

The flaxen gasped. "I'm so sorry, Usagi. I can't believe he had to cancel again." She pouted in sympathy before immediately perking up. "Well, Yaten is taking me to the VIP room. You're more than welcome to come if you want!"

The odango-head smiled. "No, that's okay. I'm actually talking to someone…" Usagi turned her head to face the black-haired stranger to find out he disappeared.

Minako looked around the bar and then back at her friend. "Who?"

Furrowing her brow, Usagi kept looking all over the club for her temporary knight in shining armor. "He was just here. He must have gone to the restroom or something." She had to silently admit to herself she was a bit disappointed to find him gone… as well as a little embarrassed.

"He…?" Minako's golden brow raised in suspicion and curiosity.

Realizing her slip up, Usagi's cheeks turned rosy and shook her head in denial. "No! Not like that. We're just talking!"

"As long as you're having a good time," Minako winked and gave her odango-headed companion's shoulder a squeeze. "I'm sorry again about Mamoru. Lemme know when you change your mind and I can let you in the room." She waved as she walked away.

Usagi gave a slight wave herself and sighed in her loneliness. In a futile attempt, she stood on her tiptoes to once again look for her blue-eyed acquaintance but all the tops of the heads looked the same. Though their conversation was lighthearted, it was nice to have someone make her forget her bad night—if only for a little bit. His smile just lit up the room and the spark in his eyes danced with playfulness. Just like that of Mamoru's when she and him first starting dating…

Oh Mamoru. As bad as she felt, she almost forgot about her anger with him because the stranger was able to let her. And suddenly thinking about her busy husband made her think of the nonexistent goodbye from earlier, since she hanged up on the conversation before another word could be spoken. Maybe she was overreacting. But is wanting to spend _one_ romantic night with your husband really too much to ask? Her birthday only came once a year… Jesus, just thinking about all the events almost brought tears to Usagi's eyes. Maybe she should have stayed on a few seconds longer to hear, 'I'm sorry, Usako. I'll call you when I can. I love you.' She just did not want to understand the demands of his job after five years of fighting it.

Sighing, she took her phone out and stared into the wallpaper display that was a photo of her and Mamoru at the beach last year. The brightness of the screen lit up her desperate and gloomy face as she stared at the momentary happiness that was the picture. It reminded her that even though they were not together often, when they were, it was bliss.

Usagi's blue eyes wondered all over the room until her focus landed on a single door placed in the middle of the wall. Letters that spelled out, "roof access," were painted in metallic silver across it.

"Hey Mamo-Chan. I just called to tell you that… I hope everything's going okay at the hospital and… that I'm sorry for hanging up on you. I've just been stressed and it was wrong of me to get upset. I miss you and was really looking forward to tonight and when I found out that it wouldn't happen, I took it out on you. But, I really only called to tell you that I'm sorry and I hope we can reschedule and try again. I promise I'll make it up to you and make you some cookies this weekend. I'll see you at home… I love you, Mamo-Chan."

Slowly, Usagi lowered her cell phone and pressed the 'end' button after finishing with leaving a message on her husband's voicemail. She knew that Mamoru was not the one to ever get completely livid but leaving the message made her feel better about herself. With one huge swig, she let the last bit of wine spill down her throat without so much as feeling the chardonnay's bite. The bright lights lit up the city as if it was manmade daytime and it echoed with the sounds of car horns and nightlife. Her eyes closed slowly as a warm wind blew against her body and she sniffed the summer air filled with the scent of the metropolis and fireworks. Any moment now, the festival will begin…

"There you are."

* * *

_**That's all for now. :3 Stay tuned!**_


	2. ii

The blonde whipped her head around to see her scotch-drinking friend. Her face beamed. "Hey! Where did you go? You just disappeared on me!"

"I'm sorry," he said smiling, "I went to the restroom. I figured you and your friend would be talking for a while."

Usagi rolled her eyes. "Please. She sniffed out some idol she's been fantasizing about ever since she figured out boys really didn't have cooties. I won't be seeing her for a while."

"Good." Showing off that bright smile of his, he extended his hand with another full glass of white wine. "Refill?"

"Read my mind." There was no fighting his offer this time. Usagi took the full glass while setting down her empty one before taking an immediate gulp.

The two shared a moment of silence before the young man took up the torch to break it.

"That was quite a message you left. Is everything okay?"

Usagi slightly grinned and looked down into her glass. "You heard?"

"I'm sorry," he shook his head and chuckled, "It wasn't my place…"

"No, it's fine. It'll be nice to talk about it." She looked up to the young man to lock eyes with him. His gaze told her to continue and she fell right into it. "It's just hard, you know? Being a doctor's wife, the emergency calls are just as part of my life as it is his. It's not often when we get to have a night together and tonight being my birthday, I thought it would be special enough for me to luck out and spend time with him." She laughed to herself. "But the gods aren't having it."

He gave a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry. It must be hard. But it sounds like you love him very much and I'll bet he undoubtedly feels the same way. Don't give up… you have a lot of time ahead of you."

Usagi let out sardonic giggles. "That's easier said from a stranger. Have you ever been married?"

"No, but I've been in a long-term relationship before."

She nodded. "You've _been_ in one? So what happened? Lemme guess: she was a lawyer?" Usagi winked.

It was his turn to look into his glass… and to be serious. "She died about four years ago."

If she could ever feel like utter shit, it would be now. Her voice caught in her throat and it was hard for her to even speak… or breathe. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to… Oh God. I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine. You didn't know, Odango." The man sadly smiled.

Usagi coughed and looked down to hide her blush. "I'm sorry about… her." The summer breeze was surprisingly chilly.

"Don't worry. It'll be nice to talk about it." His smile turned heartfelt.

The blonde took a huge gulp of her wine to drink down her fast heartbeat and humiliation. There he goes again making jokes in he midst of seriousness. She licked her lips of the remaining wine taste. "How did she…?"

"Hit and run," he cut her off, saving her from the awkwardness of finishing her question. "We were… out on the town one night. I guess we weren't paying attention or the driver wasn't, I don't know. But I barely blinked when it happened." He swished his wine and stared off into nothingness. "She died in my arms before the paramedics could get there."

The air hung heavy with depression. "That's so horrible," was all Usagi could say with the onset of sympathetic tears.

The dark-haired man nodded in agreement. "It is. No one should ever have to go through that. No person should ever have to watch their lover die. I wouldn't wish that upon anyone. It changed my life."

"I… can't imagine."

"You shouldn't."

Breaking her focus from the young man, Usagi's head turned toward the door to the stairs opening and slamming loudly against the wall about twenty feet away. In the entryway stood Minako holding a red fruity drink adorned with a pineapple slice and cherries on the rim.

"There you are, Usagi! I've been looking everywhere for you!" The red-bowed woman yelled from under the doorframe with a slight slur to her speech.

Usagi chuckled. "Why have you been looking for me?"

"Have you seen Rei anywhere? I just dawned on us that she's missing and she's not answering her phone. We're all on this huge manhunt for her."

The odango-head looked up in thought derisively. "Enlighten me as to why people are trying so hard to look for her?"

"She _does_ sign my time card." Minako shrugged and began playing with her cell phone that she held in her other hand, more than likely giving Rei another call. "I can't believe that she was such a bitch about coming to this party and then peaces out before it's over. Hippo-crite!"

"I saw her leave about an hour ago. I don't know where, though." Usagi stated.

"Well at least we know she's not here and just ignoring us. I can't help but admit it's a bit weird she's not answering her phone. You would think the skin on her hand grew into it considering how much she's on it."

"Hmm… that is strange…" the odango-head began to wonder.

"Eh, well, I'm gonna go back down and find Yaten. I saw Ayaka from H.R. crawling up his ass earlier." Minako growled before soon making her exit.

After the door slammed shut, Usagi turned back toward the stranger. Luckily, he was still standing there this time.

"With as much as she's shadowing Yaten, she better get some interview material out of him. He's the hardest person to get a hold of. He can be such an ass." The blonde looked at the young man to see him quietly snicker. "Anyway, Mina must be really drunk."

He smiled. "Why do you say that?"

"Let's just say she loves men," Usagi giggled, "especially attractive ones. She didn't even notice you."

She felt blessed to witness him lightly blush—a look that suited him—before he stated, "For being an ass, Yaten's pretty good at keeping a woman's undivided attention. And he doesn't even have to try. Or maybe she thought you already called dibs on me." The man had to laugh at his own joke.

"You know Yaten Kou?"

He nodded lightly during a sip of wine. "You could say that."

Usagi laughed and shook her head. "All you celebrities know each other. What am I saying?" She took another huge gulp of her wine before smacking her tongue and looking at the glass. "I can't believe I'm not feeling anything. This is my fourth drink and I'm barely tipsy. It's making me more tired than anything."

"Is that a good thing?" The dark-haired man raised a brow.

"Probably not and it's just my luck that tonight's the night I can't get drunk. It's a sign."

"A sign for what?"

"That I'm meant to remember tonight." Usagi sniggered to herself. "But really, I'm starting to feel very tired. I think I might turn in."

He smiled tenderly and nodded. "Let me walk you out." Turning on his heel, it revealed to the blonde a long wavy ponytail laying flat against his back. Had it not been for the city lights from nearby buildings, the color of his hair would have been lost within the blackness of his shirt. He put his hand on the handle of the door to give it a pull when, to their dismay, it did not budge. He gave it a few more pulls and still no success.

"It's locked." The man observed.

Directly behind him, Usagi's eyes were wide with fear. "What're we gonna do?"

"There's a fire escape on the other side," he faced the odango-head while pointing behind himself with his thumb. "We can get down that way."

Not being too much of a fan of the idea but realizing she had no other choice in the matter, the blonde woman followed the black-haired stranger down the dark painted steel balconies and stairways. She went as fast as her four-inch heels and tight pencil skirt would allow. It was an understatement to say that she was simply relieved when she made it to solid ground in one piece.

After they both made it down, they strolled slowly toward the busy street.

So now it was to be over. She would go home back to her lonely life and marriage of moments. As taboo as it looked that she spent time with a man other than her husband, Usagi did not feel any wrongness about it. In fact she felt content with him and a little saddened that she was too tired to carry on their night. But before she would go, she had to know one thing. "So, throughout this whole night of deep conversations and scotch stains, I never really thought to ask your name."

The stranger smirked. "It's Seiya."

"Seiya…?"

"…Kou."

"As in Yaten Kou?"

He winked. "You could say that. And yours?"

"Usagi."

"Usagi…" he repeated before looking up in contemplation, "No, I still prefer Odango."

Usagi scoffed. "You're lucky you're a celebrity or I would be tearing that face up." Soon after that announcement, an imaginary light bulb flicked on over her head before she immediately began digging around her purse. Her distraction with the bottomless pit that was her purse caused her to stop in the isolated alleyway a few steps before reaching the street.

"Everything okay?" Seiya inquired, looking curiously at her and halting his saunter.

A few seconds later, Usagi produced a pen and notepad. "I must have your autograph, Mr. Kou," She beamed.

All he could respond with was by throwing his head back in laughter. "Why would you want an autograph from a former has-been?"

The odango-head returned the laugh but blushed profusely and felt a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry I was so mean earlier! But I promise I've changed my mind. Plus it's my birthday so you have to."

"It's your birthday? Really?"

"Yes." She grinned. "Now sign."

Seiya smirked mischievously and reached out slowly for Usagi's pen and pad. As he grabbed them—with Usagi still holding on—the blonde felt an intense body shiver, yet again.

"Oh my, I'm sorry. I keep doing that. I've been unusually cold tonight." She nervously smiled.

"I'm sorry. I left my jacket in the car. You'll warm up soon." He murmured while scribbling on the paper. As Seiya finished, he stepped closer to the blonde and put his lips close to her ear and supported himself by leaning on the concrete wall of the Hana Bar. Usagi immediately stiffened and held her breath as her heart tried to beat violently out of her chest.

"It was nice to know you, Odango. Mamoru's a lucky guy… I'm glad I met you and I'll never forget you."

They locked eyes for a moment while Usagi registered all that Seiya said. She hoped she had not been sending him the wrong signals but she did hang out with him—and _only_ him—the whole night, so what did she expect? Although after his statements, the only moves he made was dropping her pen and pad back in her open purse and stepping back, putting a comfortable space in between them.

She cleared her throat nervously and took an interest in the ground. As blank as her mind was, what she had to respond with had to now come from the heart. "You too, Seiya… thank you. You've saved this night for me."

Seiya's dark blue eyes flashed with contentment and looked toward the street. "You better go. Cabs are waiting and I wouldn't want anyone to steal another one from you."

Usagi smiled and followed the man's gaze to a waiting cab. "Yeah…" She finished her journey out of the alley and made it to the yellow stationary vehicle. After opening the back door, she turned around to finish their parting. Seiya had followed her closely and stood only a couple of feet away. He too was there to finish the goodbye.

"Bye, Seiya…" Usagi whispered. It was barely audible. She felt timid and weary about leaving him. She felt that she made such a connection with him that she would want to see him again. And she was wondering if he felt the same way. But Mamoru was also on her mind and she needed to go home for him. She should not be worrying about anything else. For the last time that night, she hugged herself tightly for warmth.

"Bye, Odango." Seiya winked and smiled.

Immediately after the blonde stepped and sat into the car, Seiya closed the door shut and the driver was quickly on his way.

"The wind's strong tonight." The driver observed.

"You're telling me." Usagi responded before giving the driver her destination address. A little while into the ride, after going over the last hour in her mind, she took out her travel-sized notepad from her purse to stare at the signature of Seiya Kou. Along with his autograph, he had also left a phone number.

* * *

She curled up tightly on one end of the love seat with a blanket draped over her shoulders. Lazily, Usagi watched several minutes of a made-for-TV movie until she heard a loud rapping at her front door. Basically jumping out of her seated position, the odango-head bounced to answer her door.

"Hey…" Minako stood at the front door. She was dressed in her pink designer sweat suit and wore bug-eyed sunglasses to cover the dark circles under her eyes and to shield them from the light.

"I know that look." Usagi said mockingly.

"Save it. Where do you hide your Alka-Seltzer?" Minako did not want to have any of Usagi's comments and pushed past her to walk to the kitchen. Her red bow that was usually perfectly starched was looking a little sad this Saturday morning. Throwing her tiny purse on the counter of the island, she opened the designated medicine cabinet and revealed the shelves filled from back to front with the medicinal antacid. "Wow, you've packed enough for the apocalypse."

Usagi followed her friend to the kitchen and sat herself at the island bar in the middle of the room. She shrugged. "Mamo-Chan has a weak stomach. Did you end up finding Rei?"

The red-bowed woman filled an empty glass with tap water and dropped the two white tablets in the cup. They immediately began dissolving into a fizzy reaction.

"No, but speaking of which, where were you the rest of the night?" Minako leaned over the counter.

"I just got so tired and the place was so cold so I just decided to leave. I was getting shivers every minute." She twisted her face. "It was weird."

Minako cocked her head. "Really? I was warm… actually, really hot."

Usagi chuckled. "Yeah well those daiquiris probably helped."

"So is that why you went up to the roof was to warm up?"

"Not really. I went up there to leave Mamo-Chan a message. I was really short with him when he had to cancel so I called to apologize. But now that you mention it, I was pretty cold up there too." Usagi's voice trailed in reflection.

"Why didn't you just have a drink? It obviously worked for me." Minako asked as she shrugged. She stared into her glass where the tablets were still dissolving.

"I did. I had a couple of glasses of wine."

Minako's attention immediately focused on Usagi. "What?" She snapped.

The odango-head was taken aback by her friend's outburst and slowly repeated herself. "I had a couple of glasses of wine."

The red-bowed woman took off her sunglasses and rubbed her temples. She felt her hangover was making her hear things… or make her think she saw things the night before? "That's weird. I don't remember seeing you with a drink all night."

What Minako said started to make Usagi nervous. "Really? Because… I did drink."

Minako shook her head. "I swear I did not see any drink in your hand any of the times I ran into you. _Plus_, the bar wasn't even serving wine; just liquor and champagne. Their shipment was late."

"Okay, Mina, how much did you really have to drink in the beginning of the hour?" The odango-headed blonde was trying to rationalize Minako's contrasting observations.

"C'mon, Usagi, I've never gotten completely blackout drunk in the first hour of drinking since I was seventeen. And I certainly remember the conversations I had with you before you left. I promise I saw no drink in your hand."

"But I know what I did." Usagi started becoming defensive. "This guy I met bought me glasses of wine."

Minako's eyes widened as she gasped loudly. "Oh that's right, you did say you were talking to some guy! Who was he?" The previous argument was temporarily rendered moot.

"Oh him…" Usagi covered her mouth to keep in her giggling as she let herself blush.

"Oh him, hehehe… YES him! Spill!" Minako imitated the odango-head.

"It's a funny story. I was running out the door to catch a cab when I ran past him and his glass full of scotch spilled all over my shirt. I was so livid and had to go clean myself up and I ended up missing my cab since Rei took off without me…"

"You were going to leave with Rei?" The hung over flaxen interjected.

"Oh yeah, she offered to share a cab since she knew I had to leave but she left me behind," Usagi said maddeningly. "I don't know where she went though. Anyway, so I was a bit rude to the guy about the whole spill and everything. But I guess I made him feel bad enough to the point that he bought me drinks." She shrugged and showed a cute grin.

"Drinks meaning: the imaginary wine?" Minako raised a brow as she took a sip of her fizzy water.

Usagi scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Maybe he brought it from home or maybe they told _you_ 'no' since you weren't a celebrity or sponsor, but I know: I. Drank. Wine." She slapped her hand on the granite top with the last three words spoken.

Shrugging, the red-bowed woman stated, "It must have been some homemade magical wine with some invisible glasses because I didn't see anyone else with wine and-"

"ANYWAY…" Usagi continued on talking about Seiya, "I'm surprised you weren't jumping all over him and humping his leg. He was pretty cute." She winked. "The bad side of me thought that if it weren't for Mamoru, I would have called dibs." The memory of Seiya's joke played in her head and she laughed to herself.

If Minako could get any more confused, it happened. "I saw him?"

"Yeah, well, he went off to the restroom when you ran into me in the bar. But when you came up to the roof he was there with me. I'm guessing Yaten is that interesting that you didn't notice any other man?" the odango-head raised her eyebrows.

For a moment, Minako was paralyzed with perplexity. Her mouth hanged ajar before she could think of words to say. "I think I'm in need of another drink…"

"Why?"

"…Because I don't remember seeing anyone up there with you."

The odango-head raised her hands up in frustration. "Why is it so hard for me to tell you this story?!"

"Well, sorry! But I honestly don't remember seeing anyone up there on the rooftop with you. Maybe those drinks were packed with more liquor than I thought…"

"Yeah…" With each word Minako said, it made Usagi more unsettled. She wanted to believe her friend but she knew what she experienced. She tried to keep her cool and make clear of Minako's statements with as reasonable of explanations as she could come up with—as even Minako was starting to do. "He was wearing all black so maybe he sort of blended in…"

"Okay, okay, so anyway, did you get his name?" Minako began taking gulps of her medicinal drink. She was too hung over to be going in circles with her friend and just decided it would be better for Usagi to get on with her story.

She snickered. "You're gonna love this! He's actually a celebrity _and_ a relative of Yaten's. His name is Seiya. Do you know of him?"

Usagi was answered by Minako's violent coughing. Much of the Alka-Seltzer mix sprayed everywhere on the counter as the red-bowed woman was trying to hack up the liquid that went down the wrong tube and into her lungs. Usagi grabbed a dish towel to wipe the spill and patted Minako's back to aid her. After a few moments, the choking woman was able to speak.

"You… you met… Seiya Kou?" Minako sputtered in between heaves and coughs.

Usagi nodded vigorously. "Yeah, can you believe it? A real celebrity talked to me." She smiled to make light of the situation but it immediately faltered when Minako's face did not return the lightheartedness.

"Seiya Kou, _the_ Seiya Kou? As in Yaten Kou?"

Her once vigorous nodding was now slowed once she registered the disbelief in Minako's face. "Yes…"

"Are you sure about that?" the usually carefree and bubbly Minako was serious and desperately searching for the truth in the depths of Usagi's eyes for the first time in their friendship.

"Well, that's who he told me he was. Is it that hard to believe?"

"Yes… actually." The hung over friend bluntly retorted.

The odango-head could not help but feel a bit insulted her for Minako to tell her that. "What're you saying? That I'm lying?"

"No… It's just…" Minako sighed almost in defeat at the fact that she did not like being in the middle of the crossfire of her and Usagi's ongoing 'she said, she saw' battle. "Listen, if I showed you a picture of him, would you be able to recognize him?"

"Of course," Usagi stated confidently.

Minako bobbed her head. "Yes, let's do that." She took the initiative to walk into the living room where Usagi's laptop lay on the coffee table. Both of the women sat on the sofa while the red-bowed one used a search engine to pull up a picture of the celebrity Usagi claimed she met the night before.

"Is this him?" Minako turned the laptop screen toward her odango-headed friend. The search returned 30,000 hits of the man's photo. Various album covers, magazine spreads and advertisements formed the bulk of Seiya's search engine photo repertoire.

Usagi's light blue eyes lit up. "Yes, that's him! That's definitely him. Wow… I didn't know he modeled for Versace." She scanned the rest of the first page of pictures, basically gawking at him and his half-nakedness.

"Usagi, you didn't know the difference between Madonna and the Virgin Mary when you first came to Stargaze. I don't know how you bullshitted your way through that interview."

"I just bought all the gossip magazines and studied them a couple of days beforehand. It was really no big deal." The subject turned to a dead horse when Usagi kept intently gazing at the pictures. "The way he talked to me, I would have never known he had this body or was famous at all." The odango-head felt and sounded like a lovesick schoolgirl looking at photographs of cute celebrity men.

"Did he… tell you about himself in any way?" Minako asked, eyeing her friend.

"Yes actually. He told me about his girlfriend and how she died in his arms a few years ago after being hit by a car." Usagi sighed in sympathy. "It was so sad but he seemed strong about it."

Minako slowly nodded. "Uh huh… yeah, I think you need to see something." She clicked on the Web site hits and opened a link that directed them to his Wikipedia page. "Read this."

Complying, Usagi's brow furrowed in bewilderment only after two seconds of reading, "Whoa, wait. This… this can't be Seiya… it can't be," She stuttered.

"Why's that?" Minako inquired, already knowing the answer.

"Because it says that he died four years ago. This can't be him."

"But you sounded certain it was him when I pulled up his pictures-"

"It's not him, Mina!" Usagi raised her voice. "Or this information is wrong. I know I talked to a man… who was _alive_. This can't be him. It's Wikipedia for god's sake; you can't believe anything you read on it. Apparently someone with some sort of sick mind edited this stuff."

She nodded, "Fair enough." Minako scrolled to the references at the bottom and chose a credited link titled, _Remember Seiya Kou_. She transferred the laptop onto Usagi's lap and sat back for a few minutes for her to read.

Usagi's heart skipped a beat at what she examined:

"_Seiya Kou (July 30, 1985 – June 30, 2006) was a musician, singer/songwriter, producer and actor. He is most notably known for being in the pop trio, "Three Lights" for the last five years of his life with his cousins: Yaten and Taiki Kou. After his death in 2006, the remaining members of the band started a charity in his name titled, _The Seiya Kou Foundation_, to raise funds against leukemia, which was the cause of his sudden stroke that led to his death. Its annual fundraiser has been held for the last three years at the Hana Bar, his favorite bar and the site of his death."_

She skimmed through a good chunk of the long Web page about his early days and career, stopping momentarily when she caught sight of a picture of Seiya only four hours before his death; he was wearing the same black shirt and slacks she saw him in the last night. Once Usagi began reading about his personal biography up until his death, the story sounded eerily familiar.

"_In late 2000 Seiya began dating former high school classmate, Kakyuu Kino, in which lasted for six years until her death in February 2006 due to a hit and run accident. Kino and Kou were attending the local celebrity parties in the Roppongi district when a car struck her in the middle of 5__th__ and 49__th__. Kou recalls her death in a newspaper interview:_

_'She died in my arms before the paramedics could get there. No one should ever have to go through that. No person should ever have to watch their lover die. I wouldn't wish that upon anyone. It changed my life.'_

_Later, on June 30, 2006, Kou and the rest of the Three Lights were seen at the Hana Bar for a promotional event of their new album. Seiya collapsed suddenly in the bar only three hours into the event. He was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival due to a __cerebral infarction. It was revealed in his autopsy that he had acute myeloid leukemia which caused the fatal stroke. He was buried on July 5. He was 25 years old when he died."_

Unable to read on, Usagi sat back against the sofa speechless and on the edge of denial.

"I guess you didn't realize that last night was put on by _The_ _Seiya Kou Foundation_," Minako muttered.

"I don't believe it. I _can't_ believe it."

"Usagi, don't worry. It was probably some sick, twisted motherfucker who memorized all his information and looked like him in order to get into your pants…"

"Pants?" The odango-head's ears perked.

Minako blinked in uncertainty. "Yes, pants."

"Pants… shirt… Mina, he spilled on me!" She looked into the light blue eyes of her red-bowed friend and grabbed her by the arms. "I told you he spilled his scotch on me and it stained my blouse! Did you not see them when you saw me?"

Minako returned the arm-grabbing gesture. "Usagi, I can't remember. I wasn't paying attention. But I'm not so sure that it was him who spilled on you…"

"Yes, _he_ did," Usagi turned her laptop screen around to face Minako and tapped a paparazzi photo of Seiya from the Web site. "Seiya did. I know it's him."

Minako shook her head accompanied with a subtle eye roll. "I don't know, Usagi…"

Something inside the odango-headed blonde told her to check her blouse. "Come with me!" Usagi shoved the laptop onto her coffee table and was soon jogging to her bedroom. Her flaxen friend started to follow her when she heard her cell phone ringtone from her small purse in the kitchen. She was torn between following Usagi and answering the phone when she realized it was probably someone with news on Rei's whereabouts who was calling.

"Usagi, I'll be in the living room!"

The odango-head heard Minako but did not respond, for she was too fixated on finding last night's blouse and proving to Minako that the Seiya Kou she met was real. As real as he could be to spill on her, for the alcohol to stain her blouse and to actually speak to her for over an hour. She was not crazy. She knew she was not crazy!

Making it to her closet, Usagi hurriedly flipped on the light switch and began digging through her dirty laundry from the week that would usually end up on the closet floor. It only took a few moments of searching when she found that plain white blouse; the blouse—though plain—was versatile enough to be appropriate for work as well as cute for going out. Usagi went to a resale shop and stumbled upon it when she was looking for a tunic to wear on her beach trip last year. She was excited that the shirt would cost her only $30 even though it was designer; she was enraged when she realized it was ruined by a stranger armed with a glass of scotch;

And she was in disbelief when she saw that it was now as clean as the day she bought it.

Usagi practically dragged her feet back to the living room, having the blouse draped over her arms. She kept staring at the shirt as if the stains were to appear if she willed hard enough. But no matter how hard she thought or how the light in her apartment changed, the stains were not reappearing… as if they were not there in the first place.

Finally looking up once she made it to her destination she came face-to-face with Minako, who was looking pale in the face and standing in the middle of the living room holding her cell phone away from her ear.

"That was Hina from work. They found Rei."

Usagi gulped, knowing the stoic look on her friend's face indicated she did not receive good news. "Where was she?"

"She was in a car accident last night. The cab lost control and ran into the side of a building and then flipped into a culvert. She's in critical condition…" Minako took in a breath before her bottom lip began to slightly quiver, "They don't think she's going to make it."

Receiving the news gave Usagi a realization that made her weak in the knees and she leaned against the wall to keep herself from collapsing. She began to hyperventilate as she felt a rush of coldness and numbness throughout her whole body. The silent tears started up and fell down her cheeks involuntarily.

Minako ran to her and grabbed her shoulders, looking deep into her eyes. "I don't mean to bring this up… but it's too… _strange_…not to. Didn't you say you almost left with her?"

The odango-head looked to her friend with red eyes. "I was only five steps away from getting into the cab. Because Seiya spilled on me, I didn't go and she left without me. Mina… that could have been me too…" She buried her hot face into the blouse to catch the tears. "He saved my life."

"And the shirt…?" Minako shifted her focus on the clean blouse that lay across Usagi's arms. The only thing it was stained with now was the odango-head's tears.

"They're… gone…" Usagi started laughing to herself and shrugged. "Of course they're gone. But I swear to you, something kept me from going into that cab with her last night. I was going with her to meet up with Mamo-Chan. Would I really miss that opportunity with him on imaginary stains?"

"You didn't really miss out. He canceled on you anyway, right?"

More chuckles erupted from the odango-head. "Yeah I guess it didn't matter. I couldn't really control that car accident…" Her statement which was supposedly nonchalant caused her to look to Minako with a sudden inquisitive look. "Did Hina say what hospital Rei went to?"

Minako started connecting the dots and expressed it with a look of nervousness. "Aiiku Hospital."

"Where Mamo-Chan works…"

_~"__There's been a horrible car accident just a few minutes ago…"_

"_No one should ever have to go through that. No person should ever have to watch their lover die. I wouldn't wish that upon anyone."~_

The memory of both the men's statement from the previous night was enough for her to almost faint. Had she been in that cab with Rei, she would have been rushed to the same hospital where her husband worked and he would have had to watch her…

"Usagi, this is getting creepy enough for me to believe it." Minako shook her head in fascination, disrupting the odango-head's train of thought. "This just seems like too much of a coincidence. I know it was only rumored for the Hana Bar to be haunted but-"

"It's haunted?!" Usagi whipped her focus on her flaxen friend and telepathically demanded her to continue with all the details.

"I mean, I thought it was only a rumor that his spirit frequented the place. I thought people were just being superstitious for believing it." With every word she spoke, Minako seemed to get more passionate.

"You think that I was talking to a ghost all night?" Worriment painted the odango-head's expression.

"How else can you explain your invisible wine, the non-existent stains or me not seeing him? Do you really think you were talking to some magician impersonator or that all those sites dedicated to the memory of Seiya aren't real? How did he happen to spill on you right before you got into a cab that was fated to crash and you would have been rushed to the very hospital where your husband works and—oh yeah—you would have more than likely died under his watch?"

Usagi squint her eyes shut and began rubbing her temples, the hyperventilation increasing tenfold. "Please stop talking, Mina… you're scaring me."

"_I'm_ scaring _you_? You're the one talking dead people!" Minako defended.

"And maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it _was_ some impersonator and I _am_ crazy."

"Are you sure?"

The odango-head sighed and shook her head admittedly. "…No…"

Minako bit her lip in thought. "Do you remember anything else happening between you guys at all? Was there anything else he left with you?"

Light bulb. "I got his autograph." Usagi bolted from her position against the wall to her purse that sat on the dining room table all on its lonesome. Once again, she dug through the bottomless pit of a bag and turned out her notepad from the chaos. She briskly flipped through the used pages.

Minako followed, with cell phone still in hand, and asked from behind, "Is it still there?"

Without answering her question verbally, Usagi silently showed Minako Seiya Kou's scribbled signature and phone number.

The bubbly flaxen took the pad to examine it closely. "It looks pretty legit…"

"How is it that _this_ is real, but not the wine or stains?"

Minako studied the autograph for a bit while also considering Usagi's remark. With all the power of her leftover brain cells, she tried to dig from the darkest and deepest recesses of her memory for all the information she read about on Seiya's death. "I have heard of people who see his ghost, see him with a glass of scotch or wine. Did he use your pen and pad to sign his autograph?"

The recollection of shivering at his taking of her pen and notepad sent more chills down Usagi's spine. If she and Minako were on the same page, they would theorize that the wine and scotch were part of his spirit, thus was invisible to everyone else whom he did not will to see him. But because the pen and paper belonged to Usagi and was part of this world, it was the only evidence of his presence that could be known to the living.

"Yes," Usagi finally answered after a few moments of stillness.

"Did you read what was written out by this phone number?" Minako questioned.

The odango-head shook her head 'no,' still in a pensive, hypnotic trance. "It was really dark in the cab."

"It says, 'because Yaten is such a reclusive ass.' Did you mention to him we've been trying to get an interview out of him for years since Seiya's death?"

"Not really. Just in passing that he was hard to get a hold of."

"Yaten has been harder to get a hold of than the Pope. Not even his publicist will disclose his whereabouts and he has declined every single interview from every single magazine for years. Only a few close friends—practically sworn to secrecy—know how to get a hold of him, Seiya included. Do you know what this means?"

Usagi gave her friend a blank stare.

Minako continued on. "If this is, in fact, Yaten's number, I am ninety-nine percent sure that you talked to Seiya Kou." She held out the notepad and her cell phone to Usagi. "Call it."

All she could do was suspiciously stare at the piece of technology that her bubbly friend was trying to hand her. What she was implying made more sense than a magician impersonator with a twisted ambition. But a ghost? Really? It would seem that the tables had turned and it was now Minako who was trying to convince her that she talked to the apparition of Seiya Kou. The thought of spending a night talking with some unworldly entity sounded superstitious and creepy, on top of the fact that it just so happened he saved her from dying in her husband's presence. She wanted now to believe so bad it was some unnatural coincidence. But her mind would go back to asking how Minako did not see a wine glass in her hand or how the dark scotch stains disappeared completely from her blouse or how Seiya basically promised himself that he did want wish for anyone to go through the pain of seeing a loved one die; a pain that Mamoru somehow avoided that night.

_"Isn't that place haunted?"_

"_It just wasn't meant to be…"_

"_Don't give up… you have a lot of time ahead of you."_

"_She didn't even notice you."_

"_I can't believe I'm not feeling anything. This is my fourth drink and I'm barely tipsy."_

"_The wind's strong tonight."~_

There was only one way to find out.

Dialing the numbers and putting the device on speakerphone, the women heard four loud rings before someone picked up on the other line.

"Hello? This is Yaten."

* * *

**End.**


End file.
